Seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority

October 31, 2008

The guy stood in the middle of the Red Line train car, sobbing and crying. "Will anyone please help me get something to eat," he pleaded. Over and over.

I was flabbergasted, not knowing what to think. But he exited the train empty-handed at Belmont.

One woman DID know what to think: "Those were crocodile tears," said the woman who had been sitting right near he was standing.

This weekend's Blue Line service suspension. This week the CTA is moving further north on the Blue Line to work, thus suspending service from Jefferson Park to Cumberland from pm Fiday till 3 am Monday.

No Yellow Line Sunday. Maintenance work and grade crossing repairs will cause service suspension all day Sunday fo Yelloww Line customers. Use the #97 Skokie bus instead.

Tricky boarding late Halloween night at Berwyn. Riders at the Red Line Berwyn stop will not be able to board going northbound tonight from 11 pm till 4 am Saturday morning, due to station renovation work. So be careful otu there, you drunken Halloween partiers!

Typical Loop El work. As usual, the Lake Street and Wabash sides of the Loop elevated tracks will be shut for repairs from 10 pm Friday till 4 am Monday. Details on reroutes of the Brown, Orange, Pink and Green lines here.

I've seen some contentious CTA public hearings. Last night's was
almost a walk in the park compared to last year's Doomsday hearings.

But that doesn't mean people aren't pissed about the pending fare
hike. And many other things, including stinky buses, the Block 37
fiasco and buses with broken lifts.

About 100 CTA customers gave Ron Huberman and the entire CTA board
many earfuls. (Or is it "earsful"?) Many questioned the collective
competency of those sitting at the front of the room. "This (fare
increase) is just incompetency," said a representative of Citizens
Taking Action. "This is just typical CTA crap. Either do your job or
resign. You people disgust me. I'm done." All-righty then.

Our own KevinB suggested a way to save $1 million -- dump the
$850,000 Jones Lang real estate contract, and fire the chief marketing
officer making almost $200,000. Kevin kindly even offered up a new idea
for the CTA gift store: "The Block 37 Black Hole Bank -- you put money in it
and it disappears down a black hole."

Some folks questioned the projected huge increase in fuel costs,
since the price of gas is now falling. Others argued for keeping the
10% bonus on Chicago Card fill-up with $20.

Lawrence Msall of the Civic Federation provided a lone voice of
approval of the fare increase; "It's reasonable and responsible because
it maintains service." And the CTA "shows responsibility" by cutting more
than 600 jobs.

Msall also opined that there's "no reasonable explanation for giving
free rides to seniors." He urged the CTA to "push back" against the
Legislature and "target free rides to those who aren't able to pay."

The room with about 150 seats was maybe 65% full. A "spillover room"
stood at the ready, but went unused. Greg Longhini, the board
secretary, said he only got about 50 comments in advance of the
meeting, compared with well over 500 last year.

But folks, even if the room were full and 200 commenters opposed the
budget, I'm fairly certain we'll see the board OK the budget on Nov. 12.

October 29, 2008

Quite a few people have noted that recently I've had some problems with some comments dropping off posts, almost randomly.

For instance, the latest "crazy commuting tale" is dated back in 2005. That's just wrong. I even had Rusty advancing some sort of conspiracy theory about me.

This is from a Rusty comment that somehow didn't get published because of the problems: "Anonymous, I think you are right. The comment count for that thread shows 105 comments, but I only count 51 there, with a large number of them mising. Of course Kevin can do what he wants with his blog, but it's too bad he waited until things quieted down, and then trimmed it before archiving without even a mention of how he changed history, or why. That part disappoints me."

Well Rusty, I really hate to disappoint you, but you can take your conspiracy theories elsewhere. I didn't delete any comments. And I'm looking into what the problem is. I do know that Typepad, my blogging software, underwent an upgrade last week. And leading up to the upgrade, Typepad warned that those of us using advanced templates might see some funkiness. And we have.

Rest assured that my brother Dan, who designed the templates, is looking into it.

Meanwhile, back off, Rusty. And while I'm commenting on commenters -- to Unindicted C0-Conspirator: Stop calling other people here "moron" and other names. I've asked you before not to call names. No one should. Nuff said.

Thank you.

UPDATE: OK, apologies to Rusty. I just saw that he wrote another comment that didn't get posted that he recognized that perhaps it's not me at all deleting comments and could be the blogging software. Thanks.

Here's another installment of questions you had for Ron Huberman and the CTA.

Why did (Huberman) take the very consumer-hostile move of doing away with schedules on the train lines, and when will he restore them? (From Bob S.)

We’re not sure what is meant by "doing away with schedules on the train lines." Every station has a posted timetable and there are also brochures with schedules for the whole route for each of the eight rail lines – just like the bus timetable brochures. Earlier this year, the CTA switched to using intervals instead of exact times during times when trains run very frequently, such as rush hour. Now the timetable might say that between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., a train runs every 5-7 minutes, for example. This mirrors what we've long done on the bus and rail route timetable brochures and is basically industry standard.

Now that the Red line subway slow zone project is wrapping up, is there going to be a focus now on eliminating slow zones that exist around the Wilson/Lawrence area (they DO exist but not on slow zone map) and in proximity to the Loyola and Granville stops? (From Ed.)

CTA crews are currently working on two slow zones around Wilson/Lawrence. The slow zones are reflected on the slow zone map as of Oct. 15 on CTA’s web site. CTA is currently looking for the funds to complete slow zone work in 2009 – including around the Loyola and Granville Red Line stations.

Were the crews for the subway project CTA track workers that can now be redeployed or were they contractor workers for that project? (From Ed again.)

They were contracted crews for that project.

Ron mentioned in a few news releases that newly reconstructed tracks would be increased above the 55 mph limit to 65 mph or possibly more. What is the status on the speed increase on the new sections of track such as on the Blue Line from Jefferson Park to O'Hare and in the subways? Are there specific areas identified that will be increased to 65 mph? (Three's the charm for Ed.)

When the Blue Line work is complete later this year, the CTA will conduct testing to determine the top speed for the current cars. In addition, there are new cars on order that are built to be able to operate at higher speeds than the current fleet. The prototype is scheduled to arrive for CTA’s review in 2009.

When will the auxiliary exit open at Sedgwick? The station was done last winter, yet the auxiliary exit has yet to open. The one at Armitage is now open, and it was just finished in June. (From Paul.)

There will be no auxiliary entrance at the Sedgwick Brown Line station. There is still work to be done on the auxiliary stairs that exit at Hudson Street. When the work is complete, those stairs will be for "emergency exit only" and customers will still be directed to exit through the main station house at Sedgwick.

October 28, 2008

Here is another installment in answers to questions that I didn't have the time to ask President Ron Huberman at the last Coffee with Ron. And no, Huberman did not personally answer each of these questions. Answers were prepared by the PR staff and reviewed by Huberman.

What with the whole Block 37 quagmire, will the stop be reopening (to serve its old role as just a regular stop with a Blue Line transfer, if not its magical role as airport-express-luggage-dropoff-whatever)? (From Sabrina.)

The Washington Red Line station was closed in 2006 due to construction at Block 37. Currently, there are a number of ways the station can be re-designed to serve customers and the Block 37 area. Because of this, plans for the Washington Red Line station are on hold until CTA can find a private sector partner and the direction of the project is determined.

I'd like to know what the timeline is for renovating the retail space under the Wilson Red Line station. I'd also like to know if the CTA owns the Majestic Store property at Broadway and Leland, and what the plans are, if any, to stop the deterioration of this historic building. (From Elaine.)

CTA currently does not have a timeline for renovating the retail space
at Wilson. Our real estate contractor, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is working on a global review of CTA's
real estate holdings. CTA owns the Majestic Store property on Broadway. JLL is reviewing CTA's real estate portfolio to determine the status of its facilities and the best use for each of them. JLL has only been on board since August 1, 2008, so their process is in the early stages.

Is the CTA considering contracts with other cellular carriers for underground access? (From Bryan Zera.)

CTA issued an RFP for wireless service providers interested in using CTA’s infrastructure to provide service to their customers in the subway. Any wireless provider with service in Chicago can respond and will be considered. To date, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular offer service in the subway.

How long will the Monroe Street subway platform be down to just a single bench that passengers cannot sit on because it's occupied by a smelly bum? (There used to be at least 3 benches.) (From CC Writer.)

Our facilities staff will review this.

Why do they only use the smaller size buses on the southbound #148 bus route in the morning? The buses are too small for the number of riders, and always end up overcrowded. Many people in my neighborhood (along Clarendon) have given up on the 148 because we simply can't get on the buses. (From DNash.)

CTA currently has 220 articulated buses but more are ordered. Articulated buses currently are being used along high ridership routes such as 145, 151, and 156.

Stolen Chicago Card ties suspect to two rapes. The Trib reports that a suspect in one rape used the stolen Chicago Card from his victim to later board a bus, where he found a second alleged victim. Excellent detective work!CTA Tattler opines on Outside the Loop radio. Check out the podcast interview with yours truly by the folks at Outside the Loop Radio. We stand outside the Morse Red Line station and discuss the latest budget, proposed fare increase, and crime on the CTA.

October 24, 2008

Same ol' same ol' when it comes to this weekend's repair work. The Lake and Wabash branch of the Loop elevated tracks will be closed again for repairs this weekend, from 10 pm Friday till 4 am Monday. And Blue Line service will be suspended between Belmont and Montrose from 9 pm Friday till 3 am Monday.

Shuttle buses will operate on the Blue Line. All elevated trains will travel on the Wells and Van Buren portions of the Loop tracks.

Also, the Jarvis Red Line station will be closed from 1 am Saturday to 4 am Monday. This pitiful station will get a much-needed facelift, including ceiling demolition, painting, and other interior rehabilitation. Rogers Park riders should use the adjacent Morse and Howard Street stations.

Interesting how the start and end times vary on all the jobs. Details here on all the above.

"People with Disabilities Ride Free" starts Friday. People with disabilities who are enrolled in the state's Circuit Breaker program can ride the CTA, Metra and Pace buses and trains beginning Oct. 24. These folks must use their their RTA Reduced Fare Permit to ride. Go here to get more info and learn how to get the permit.

Huberman drops police pension effort. In the face of harsh criticism from the Fraternal Order of Police, CTA President Ron Huberman has decided to ditch his effort to continue paying into his police pension, the Sun-Times reports.

October 23, 2008

Chicago's two daily newspaper transportation columnists reported on two interesting subjects this week.

The Trib's Getting Around columnist, Jon Hilkevitch, focuses on "design issues, construction flaws and blemishes that customers are noticing as
12 of the 18 Brown Line stations are now completed."

"There are early signs of rust, due in part to cost-saving decisions to eliminate
some stainless steel on platform railings, canopy decks and other locations and
use galvanized steel, [the CTA] acknowledged. Splintering already is seen on
some of the new wooden platforms. Rivets are corroding quickly at the Southport station because contractors used the wrong fasteners on
some windbreak panels."

Hilkevitch reports that the shortcuts can be laid at the feet of CTA ex-President Frank Kruesi, who ordered changes after the project came in higher than estimates.

Over at the Sun-Times, Mary Wisniewski tells us that the CTA former security firm, Action K-9 Security, has busted the current security firm for not doing a full day's work.

"[Action CEO Timothy] Clancy claims he's talked to former Securitas employees who say the firm was
charging the CTA for its travel time back and forth to CTA stations.